Jarrett Mickens (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley)
and Eric Slenk (Holland, Mich./Christian)
both posted performances among the top-five in Crusader history as the
Valparaiso men’s track and field team competed Friday evening at the Mike Lints
Alumni Open in Allendale, Mich.

Slenk ran a time of 50.6h seconds in the 400m dash, good for
a fourth-place finish and the third-fastest time in Crusader history in the
event. The freshman also added a
ninth-place showing in the 200m dash with a time of 23.06 seconds.

Mickens posted a distance of 21’8 ¼” in the long jump, good
for fifth place and the fifth-best mark in the event all-time at Valpo. He also registered a third-place finish in
the triple jump, leaping 43’1 ¾”.

Also on the infield, Steve
Schubert (Lisle, Ill./Benet Academy) joined Mickens with a
high placement in the triple jump, recording a distance of 42’8” for a
sixth-place finish. Meanwhile, Charlie Walesa (Chicago, Ill./Luther
North) cleared 5’9 ¾” in the high jump to finish in ninth place.

On the track, a pair of Crusaders finished in the top-ten in
the 800m run. Derek Schnake (Chicago, Ill./Lincoln Park) crossed
the line in 2:02.07, good for seventh place, while Bryan Gill (Columbia City, Ind./Columbia
City) finished in tenth place with a time of 2:03.22.

Not to be outdone, three Crusader runners posted top-ten
showings in the 3,000m run. Jordan Piaskowy (Crete, Ill./Illiana
Christian) led the trio of runners with a seventh-place finish in 9:17.23. Joel
Hartenberger (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia)
finished in ninth place with a time of 9:20.71, while Patrick Johnson (Oil City,
Pa./Cranberry [Monmouth])
finished immediately behind in tenth place, finishing in 9:21.29.

The Crusader men are
scheduled to return to action next weekend at the Simmons-Harvey Invitational
in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The two-day event begins Friday evening.